


Seven Days of Songs

by joyblue



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-06
Updated: 2013-08-06
Packaged: 2017-12-22 14:55:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/914538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joyblue/pseuds/joyblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the Arya x Gendry week - Seven Days of Songs<br/>Day 1: Frenzy - Day 2: Abandon</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1 - Frenzy: Gotta Catch Them All!

**Author's Note:**

> I am so behind these prompts!
> 
> Pretty much songs that I listened to while I wrote the chapter.

Seven Days of Songs – Arya x Gendry week prompt  
Standard Disclaimers Apply

Day 1 - Frenzy: Gotta Catch Them All!

 

Arya was on a warpath. As she guided Bran’s wheelchair and kept her eye on Rickon, she glared at the crowd of people that just pushed their way through the make shift  stadium. The security was useless, and the front row section was now impossible to get through with the hundreds of people that kept pushing their way in.

“Watch it!” Arya snapped at a middle aged man who nearly pushed Rickon to the ground. The man just gave her the finger, and only Bran’s soothing voice kept her from retaliating.

“Just let me see if I can see someone from security…” Arya muttered as she moved towards the side to prevent her brothers from being trampled over.

“Arya… we’re going to miss the show!” Rickon mumbled against her as people kept pushing their way to the front.

“I know, I’m sorry… we should have left earlier.” Arya apologised. She didn’t realise the show was going to attract so much attention. “Just hold on to my sleeves, and we’ll keep on moving forward, okay?”

Rickon nodded and Arya felt guilty at the sombre expressions of her brothers. On their way to the convention centre, her brothers were full of energy, both singing along to the Pokémon theme that blasted through her car’s cd player.

Some genius managed to create models of the Pokemon that could be controlled, and the ‘live battle’ was the biggest headliner for this year’s comic-con. Bran had always acted more mature for his age, even older than Arya even, but the news that they were going to watch the battle gave Arya a glimpse of the boy her brother is.

“You just can’t push in just because the kid’s in a wheelchair, you know!” The same man that pushed Rickon sneered as they walked past and Arya’s body whipped so fast to face the idiot.

“See this?” Arya asked as she showed the pass that hanged around her neck. “We have a pass that says we can be at the front, I don’t even see you wearing any pass you idiot!”

“What did you call me?” The man demanded as he walked closer, his fists closed and cheeks red from anger and embarrassment.

“Idiot!” Arya repeated and she heard Rickon growl besides her. She might be older, but Rickon was just as protective as his older brothers.

Before the guy can say anything else, a tall black haired man walked towards them with the word ‘Crew’ written on his shirt.

“Is there a problem?” The man asked politely and the other guy just glared at Arya.

“Ask him, he’s the ass who pushed his way in…”

“Arya…” Bran called her attention as he pulled her sleeves.

“Can I see your pass, sir?”

At that question, the man just mumbled out an insult before he walked away.

“Are you guys alright?”

“We would be if you actually controlled the crowds, it’s absolute mayhem trying to get in!” Arya snapped as she pushed Rickon closer to her, with more people rushing to the front as the show was about to begin.

The man grimaced as he looked around. “Yeah, there was a miscommunication with the ground staff and security.” He replied as he looked at the passes that hanged around their necks before he looked at the front where they were supposed to be. “It doesn’t look like you’d be able to get a spot.”

“We can stay here, we have a good view of the stage, anyway.” Bran responded quietly as Rickon protested.

“Arya!!! I want to see Charizard!”

The man just grinned as he looked down at Rickon. “So he’s your favourite?” Rickon nodded before the man turned to Bran. “What about you?”

“Bulbasaur” Bran replied and the man nodded his head.

“I guess since it is our fault you can’t make it to the front, I can give you the next best thing.”

“Where’s that?” Arya asked and the man smiled, and she noticed for the first time how blue his eyes were.

“Backstage.”

Three hours later, and Arya was sure that she would never be able to go home. Her brothers clearly had no intention to. When the man introduced himself as Gendry Waters, she swore Bran nearly fainted. It turns out that Gendry was the genius that brought the Pokémon to life, and her two brothers practically worshipped Gendry on the spot.

Along with a few other children that had the front pass that were unable to get through the crowd, Arya watched as her brothers played with the Pokemon, under supervision of the staff. When the rest of the children had gone, Bran and Rickon begged to stay behind as Bran asked technical questions and Rickon used his phone, and hers to take every possible picture he could take with all the Pokemon and the rest of the crew backstage.

When the crew headed off to have dinner, and Gendry invited them, Bran and Rickon begged Arya to say ‘yes’ to the invitation.

Now, they sat next to each other inside a diner owned  by a friend of Gendry and they both watched as Bran and Rickon battled it out on their game consoles.

“So, what did you think of the show?”

“It was alright.” Arya replied with a shrug. Though the pure joy she saw on her brother’s face made it more than alright. “Thanks by the way, you didn’t have to bring us back here. I’ve never seen Bran this excited since…  since forever.”

“I was happy too, I don’t get asked the questions your brother asked, he’s very smart.”

“Very.” Arya agreed as Bran threw his hands up in victory against Rickon.

Gendry cleared his throat, and Arya tried not to blush. It’s been hard not to notice Gendry’s eyes and his smile, and she kept her attention on her brothers because she wasn’t like Sansa who would know exactly what to do in a situation like this.

“We’re all leaving in about five minutes. Are you guys okay to get home?”

“Yeah.” Arya responded with a smile. “Thank you again though, my brothers really enjoyed the show.”

As they all walked out of the diner and towards their cars, Rickon and Bran exchanged high fives with Gendry while she settled for an awkward handshake.

“So what about you, who’s your favourite?” Gendry asked as he opened the car door for her and helped Bran in.

“Meowth.”

Gendry laughed and when they waved their good byes and Arya drove away, she wished she was like Sansa because Sansa would definitely have known what to do.

Behind her, Rickon and Bran snickered and she gave them a look through the rear view mirror.

“What’s so funny?”

“Don’t worry, Arya… I got his number for you.” Rickon replied with a grin and Bran tried to smother his laughter and Arya ignored her brothers on the way home.

The next day, she received a text from an unknown number.

_“Mine is Psyduck.”_

Turns out, he’s got her number too.

 

  


	2. Chasing Cars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2: Abandon
> 
> "Then just lie here with me, forget this world for the moment and tell me everything that made you happy."

Seven Days of Songs – Arya x Gendry week prompt  
Standard Disclaimers Apply

Day 2 - Abandon: Chasing Cars  

The war was over.

He watched as Sansa Stark burned the banners of House Bolton. Besides her, Jon Snow stood tall, with Bran and Rickon Stark all staring at the flames. He looked around but could not find Arya anywhere, and when he locked eyes with the former Lord Commander, Jon simply nodded and looked towards the Godswood.

The rest of Arya’s siblings just looked at him solemnly through the fire, and he took that as their blessing as he walked towards Arya. He found her, naked in the water beneath the heart tree as she cleansed herself of the blood of their enemies.

As he walked closer, he could see specks of blood on her hair and at her back, blood that she would not be able to wipe off herself. He took his boots off, followed by his shirt and armour. The only indication she heard him was a slight movement of her head and when Gendry approached her, but she didn’t flinch as he used his tunic to clean her back.

She didn’t say anything as he helped her wash of the blood. She never said anything much these days. Gone was the girl he used to know, quick to throw an insult, but just as quick to defend those who needed help. She was a woman of five and ten when he saw her again, her demeanour hard as the Valayrian steel he forged for her.

“Arya.”

“I’m finished with my list.”

Arya turned to face him, and for the first time since he saw her again, he saw the vulnerable girl he left behind.

“It’s over.”

Arya nodded and Gendry turned away as she raised herself out of the hot spring and not until Gendry was sure she was clothed did he turn around. He kept his eyes on her as he got out of the water, and he watched as Arya sat on the forest ground, and rocked her body as she looked at the heart tree.

He sat by her side as she continued to rock her body, and underneath the setting sun, she looked just as young when he saw her last. “It’s over.” He repeated and Arya closed her eyes.

“I killed them all.” Her voice was barely a whisper as she opened her eyes to look at him. “I’ve done nothing but kill the people who betrayed my family, the people I was ordered to kill when I was faceless. There’s no one left for me to kill.” She said with a bitter laugh. “I’ve been killing for so long, I don’t know what else to do.”

“You don’t need to do anything anymore, you can be free.”

The bitterness in her smile wavered slightly before she looked away. “And what about you, Lord Baratheon? What lies ahead in your path?”

“Never really thought about it.” Gendry replied honestly. “I never wanted the title, I just woke up one day to have a scroll handed to me declaring me the heir of Storm’s End. I’ve got no plans on being some Lord.”

“You can finally have your family.”

The words they last exchanged drifted in their memories and Gendry shook his head. “No, I’ve learned that not all families are something you would want in your life. The Brotherhood sold me just as Tobho Mott did. The Baratheons handed me the title because they need someone to marry off… I’m not going to be anyone’s pawn.”

He didn’t notice when she stopped rocking, but he noticed how she had become completely still as she looked at him.

“I dreamed about this place, when we were younger, my brothers, Sansa and I would just lie here and talk about what we would wish for. I think Sansa regrets asking for a Prince.”

Gendry looked up at the sky that was now becoming darker. He laid down on the ground, not caring that his pants were still wet, or that he still had no shirt on. “What would you wish for now?”

“For everything to be the same as it was. But that’s just stupid.”

“It’s not stupid.” Gendry replied. “Nothing will ever be the same for anyone. But now that the war is over, we can move on. Maybe to make sure no war will ever touch us again.”

“I can’t… every time I close my eyes, I see my father kneeling knowing he would die, Robb’s body as he was paraded around with Grey Wind’s head on his shoulders, mother as Nymeria dragged her away from the river, the faces I’ve killed… eyes I’ve shut forever.”

“Lie down with me…”

Arya looked at him, but he looked away and kept his gaze on the darkening sky. “Lie down with me and tell me about your father, when he was alive. What you loved about your brother the most, what songs your mother used to sing.”

“What good will that do?”

“You don’t need to hold on to those memories anymore, you needed them to survive, to give you a reason to fight. Let those memories go and return to the ones that made you happy.”

When Arya didn’t say anything, he looked at her and saw her eyes looking at him, but it was almost as if she wasn’t there with him.

“My father taught me how to ride, I remember being on a horse with him as we rode outside the gates of Winterfell. He would laugh and say that I would surpass my Aunt Lyanna when it comes to riding a horse…”

Gendry offered her his hand and she took it almost reluctantly as she laid down beside him. They turned away from each other, hands on their sides as they looked up at the sky. When Arya spoke next, it was softer, filled with so much yearning that Gendry thought his heart would break.

“Robb would distract Septa Mordane or mother so I can get away from my lessons, he would just wink and pretend he didn’t do anything. He would’ve made a good Lord, even a better King.”

Arya stopped as she turned to face him, and Gendry looked at her as Arya curled her body, hands clasped together like she used to sleep when they were on the road. “Mother used to come in my bedroom, I would pretend to be asleep especially if I knew I would be in trouble. She would just brush my hair away from my face, I’d feel her kiss me and hear her say how much she loves me.”

Her words were shaky and when she opened her eyes, Gendry just turned his body to mirror her position. Their hands were barely touching, and he didn’t know how to give her comfort for the family she lost, when he had no family to loose. Arya was the closest thing he had to a family, and had The Hound not taken her, he would have left her for the Brotherhood that never really wanted him to be one of them.

“Then just lie here with me, forget this world for the moment and tell me everything that made you happy. I know it won’t bring them back, it would never make things right, but you’ve spent so much time holding on to the things that made you angry or sad… it’s time to let go, I mean... it doesn't have to be me that you talk to…” He added hastily, still afraid of overstepping his bounds. 

She just looked at him, there were so many things left unsaid between them, so many things they could not bring themselves to say. It was easier to hide behind the war that raged Westeros, but with the war over, there was nowhere for them to hide.

“And what will you say if Queen Daenerys orders you to return south to fulfil your role as Lord of Storm’s End?”

“I was never hers to command.” Gendry replied and Arya closed her eyes ones more and Gendry just watched the expression change on Arya's face. She'd been so stoic, that any other emotion on her face became a blessing for him and her family.

“Father used to perch me on his shoulders when I was little, I would pretend that he was a dragon and I was a mighty warrior…”

The sky above them was blanketed with stars and this time when they fell asleep, he didn’t hear her prayer, but tales from her childhood that brought a smile from Arya’s lips every once in a while. She was never going to be the Arya Stark that left Winterfell from King’s Landing all those years ago. She abandoned her identity to become faceless, and maybe someday, she can abandon everything that made her faceless and return to the family that was waiting for her.  

And he would wait with them.


End file.
